fittie-lan' 
Thou was a nc.lili' tittir-l<tn 
: iii (!!_ ni' tow wiis drawn. 
Burn*, The Aulil Farmers Salutation to his Aiil.l Marc. 
fittin (lit'in), . [A Sc. dial, corruption of u-liil- 
iiii/.} The whiting. 
fitting (fifing), . [Verbal n. of fit?, f.] 1. Any- 
thing employed in fitting up permanently : used 
generally in the plural, in the sense of fixtures, 
tackle, apparatus, equipment: as, the Jittiiiyx 
of an office ; 
2243 
The fMiwjs of the church are largely of Renaissance 
date. !' -I. FivenMn, Venice, p. 03. 
2. In xtHi/i-iiiifl.-iiii/, the finishing operation for 
yellow soaps, consisting in removing the lye 
from the cooled copper, and then bringing its 
remaining contents again to a boil, if the liquid 
soap, called at this stage the fit, is now found too stiif, it 
is thinned with water ; if too sticky, a little strong lye or 
brine is stirred into It. 
This addition of water, technically called fitting, is made 
when the object of the manufacturer is to obtain a unicol- 
oured soap, whether it be curd or yellow soap. 
I7re, Diet., III. 849. 
fitting (ftt'ing), j. a. [Ppr. of fit*, v. i.'] Fit or 
appropriate; suitable; proper. 
The English gane a name fitting to this distressed Citie, 
calling it Port Famine. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 863. 
Next to ray Father, 'tis fitting you should have Cogni- 
zance of my Affairs and Fortunes. 
Howell, Letters, I. Iv. 26. 
Thou art ray slave, and not a day shall be 
But I will find some fitting task for thee. 
William Murrix, 'Earthly Paradise, I. 261. 
= Syn. See list under fit'2, a. 
fittingly (fit'ing-li), adv. In a fitting or suit- 
able manner ; suitably ; appropriately. 
fittingness (fit'ing-nes), n. Suitableness; ap- 
propriateness; fitness. 
He ... need not question ihefittingnesse of god-fathers 
promising in behalf of the children for whom they answer. 
Jer. Taylor, Great Exemplar, i. 6. 
fitting-shop (fit'ing-shop), . In mech., a shop 
in which machinery is fitted together, in con- 
tradistinction to turning-shop, foundry, smithy, 
etc. ; the shop in which the fitters work. 
fittle (fit'l), . A dialectal variant of vittle, now 
spelled victual. 
fitton, . and v. See fitten. 
fitty 1 (flt'i), a. [< fifl + -yi.] 1. Subject to 
fits, spasms, or paroxysms. [Vulgar.] 
They . . . turned out so sickly and fitty that there was 
no rearing them anyhow. 
E. Nans, Thinks I to Myself, II. 168. 
2. Given to or characterized by fits and starts ; 
irregular ; changeable ; capricious : as, he is 
Good Grammarians among the Romanies, as Cicero, 
Varro, Quintilian, & others strained themselues to glue 
the Oreeke wordes Latin names, and yet nothing so apt 
and fitty. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 181. 
fitweed (fit' wed), n. The Eryngium fcetidum, a 
fetid herb of the West Indies, used as a remedy 
for hysteria. 
fitzt (fits), n. [ME. fite, fytz, fie, < AF. fie (z as 
ts), OF. fis, fils, F. fils, son, < L. filius, son : see 
filial.] A son. Now used only as an element in cer- 
tain surnames, in the sense of ' son of,' as J'ttegerald, Fitz- 
herbert, /Yteraauriee, /'itewilliam ; especially in the sur- 
names of the illegitimate sons of English kings or princes 
of the blood, etc., as Fitzroy, .f'ftzclarence. 
Jlerci Ihsu [Iesu]^2 Mari. 
Karlij Eng. Poems (ed. Furnivall), p. 12. 
Sire Roberd^j le Roy. Hubert of Gloucester, p. 432. 
five (fiv), a. and n. [< ME. five, earlier ftf, < 
AS. fif, rarely with pi. term, fife = OS. OFries. 
fif = MLG. vif, LG. fif = D. vltf= OHG. finf, 
fimf, funf, MHG. vunf, vunf, G. fiinf = Icel. 
fimtn = Sw. Dan. fern = Goth, fimf = L. quin- 
que (for *pinque) (> It. cinque = Sp. Pg. cinco 
= Pr. cine = F. cinq) = Oscan pomtis = W. 
pump = Olr. coic, mod. Ir. cuig = Gael, coig, 
cuig = Gr. KCVTC, dial, TTC/OTC = Lith. petiki = 
Lett, peezi = OBulg. penti = Slov. peti = Bo- 
hem, petty = Serv. peti = Pol. piaty = Kuss. 
pyati = Skt. pancha, five (whence ult. E. punch*, 
q. v.). Hence fifth, fifty, etc.] I. a. One more 
than four, or two more than three : a cardinal 
number: as, ./icemen; five loaves. 
Ten virgins . . . went forth to meet the bridegroom : 
and fine of them were wise, and lice were foolish. 
Mat. xxv. 2. 
Five o'clock, five hours past noon or midnight. Five 
per cent, cases. See easel. The Five Articles and 
the Five Points. See article. The five bodies. See 
f'- : rnlar body, under body. to come in with flve eggs*. 
S'i' '''/I/ 1 . 
II. n. 1 . A number, the sum of four and one ; 
the number of the fingers and thumb of one 
hand. 2. A symbol representing this number, 
as 5, V, or v. 3. A playing-card bearing five 
pips or spots on it. 4. pi. Bonds bearing inter- 
est at five per cent. Continued fives, five per cent. 
tun nls issued by the United States government in 1870 and 
1871, redeemable in 18S1, but continued in 1881 at 3* per 
cent., subject to redemption at any time. 
five-bpater (fiv'bo'ter), n. A whaling-vessel 
carrying five boats; a large whaler. See/our- 
/IIKltl'l'. 
fivefinger (fiv'fing*ger), n. 1. A name given 
to common species of 1'otentilla which have 
digitate leaves with five leaflets, as P. reptans 
of Europe and P. Canadensis of the United 
States. The marsh-fivefinger is P. palustris. 
Also called cinquefoil or fivefinger-graxs. 
The leaves of the fine-finger draw together to shelter 
the flower when it rains, and open when the sun conies 
out. S. Judd, Margaret, iii. 
2. In Jamaica, the Syngonium auritum, an aroid 
with five-parted leaves. 3. pi. A popular name 
of some or any starfish ; a five-fingered jack. 
4. pi. A name given to the five of trumps in 
certain games of cards. [Slang.] 
five-fingered (fiv'fing"gerd), a. InzooL, having 
five fingers or parts likened to fingers Five-fin- 
gered jack, a popular name for a starfish. 
five-finger-tied (fiv'fing"ger-tld), a. Tied by 
all the fingers of the hand that is, thoroughly 
or securely tied : only in the passage cited. 
And with another knot, five-finger-tied, . . . 
The fragments, scraps, the bits, and greasy reliques 
Of her o'er-eaten faith, are bound to Diomed. 
Shak., T. and C., v. 2. 
fivefold (fiv'fold), a. [< ME. fiffold, fiffald, fif- 
feald, < AS. fiffeald (= D. vijfvoud = OHG. finf- 
falt, G. funffalt, fiinffalt-ig = Dan. femfold = 
8w.femfald-ig), <fif, five, + -feald, -fold.] Five 
times the number or quantity. 
All the brethren are entertained bountifully, but Benja- 
min hath a. fine-fold portion. Bp. Hall, Joseph. 
fiveleaf (fiv'lef), re. Cinquefoil. 
fiveling (fiv'ling), n. [< five + -ling 1 .'] In 
crystal., a twin crystal consisting of five indi- 
viduals. 
fivemouths (fiv'mouTHz), n. pi. A name of the 
tonguelets, parasitic organisms of the order 
Pentastomidea or Lingatulina. See these words. 
fivepence (flv'pens), n. A sum of money of the 
value of 5 pennies English, or nearly 10 cents: 
often used of five cents, or the American five- 
cent piece or half -dime. Fine as flvepence. See 
fine?. 
ftvepenny (flv'peu"i), a. Of the value of five 
pence, 
fiver (fi'ver), n. A five-pound or five-dollar 
note. [Slang.] 
I'll trot him . . . against any horse you can bring for a 
fiver. T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, vi. 
fives 1 (fivz), n. pi. [PI. of five.'] 1. A kind of 
play with a ball, originally called hand-tennis: 
so named, it is said, because usually played with 
five on each side, or because three fives or 15 
are counted to the game, or because the ball is 
struck with the hand or five fingers. 2. The 
five fingers; the hand; the fist. [Sporting 
slang.] 
Whereby, altho' as yet they have not took to use their 
fives, 
Or, according as the fashion is, to sticking with their 
knives. Hood, Row at the Oxford Arms. 
Putting themselves in the most approved style of defense, 
they bunched their five* and were going in for satisfaction. 
Leavemmrth. (Kansas) Daily Times, Nov. 1, 1864. 
Bunch of fives. See bunchl. 
fives 2 (fivz), n. pi. An improper form of vives. 
His horse . . . past cure of the fives. 
Shak., T. of the S., iii. 2. 
fives-court (fivz'kort), n. 1. A place where the 
game of fives is played. 
They went out through the quadrangle and past the 
big fives court, into the great playground. 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, i. 5. 
2. Inpiigihsm, a hall where boxing is practised. 
[Slang.] 
fivesomet (fiv'sum), a. [< five + some. See 
some.'} By fives ; with five. 
They guarded him, fivexome on each side. 
Kinmont Willie (Child's Ballads, VI. 59). 
five-spot (fiv'spot), 5i. Same as five, 3. 
five-square (fiv'skwar), a. Having five corners 
or angles. 
The lintel and side-posts were five-square. 
1 Kings vi. 31 (margin). 
five-twenty (fiv'twen'ti), a. and n. I. a. Re- 
deemable at any time after five years from date 
of issue and payable in full at the end of twen- 
ty years: applied to certain bonds, commonly 
called five-twenties, bearing interest payable in 
gold at the rate of 6 per cent., issued by the 
fix 
United States government in 1862, 1864, and 
1865. 
The Ten-Forty bonds have stood in the market at nlm< i.-t 
precisely the same figure as the Fine-Twenty bonds. 
The Xalitiii, \. -I'M. 
II. n. A bond of this kind. 
Is it possible to advance a stronger proof of thccon vie lie in 
of bona-flde buyers that the Firr-Ttreiities were payable, 
like the Ten-forties, principal and interest in gold V 
The Saturn, V. 296. 
fix (fiks), f. [< ME. fixer, fix, fasten (resting 
on fix, a., fixed), = G. fixiren = Dan. Jixere = 
Sw. fixera = F. fixer (OF. 'fixer not in use, but 
ficher, fichier, whence the common ME.fitchen, 
fichen, fix, fasten: see fitch^) = Sp. fijar = Pg. 
fixar = It. fissure, fix one's eyes upon, gaze 
upon, < ML. fixare, fix, fasten, freq. of ii.figere, 
pp. fixus, fix, fasten, drive or thrust in, trans- 
fix, pierce.] I. trans. 1. To fasten; make fast 
by some material means ; attach or confine firm- 
ly or securely: also used figuratively of imma- 
terial things. 
They've fixed his sword within the sheath. 
Death of Farcy Reed (Child's Ballads, VI. 142). 
I'll make thy memory loath'd, and fix a scandal 
Upon thy name for ever. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, iii. 2. 
While he is so overgreedy to fix a name of ill sound upon 
another, note how stupid he is to expose himselfe or his 
owne friends to the same ignominy. 
Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus. 
Holding the bush, to fix it back, she stood. 
Tennyson, Gardener's Daughter. 
2. Figuratively, to direct intently or persis- 
tently, so as to be as it were fastened to its ob- 
ject: as, to fix the mind on a subject; to fix 
the eyes or the attention. 
Why are thine eyes fix'd to the sullen earth ? 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., i. 2. 
There will I fix my heart : there dwells my love, 
My Life, my Lord. J. Beaumont, Psyche, ii. 188. 
Shepherd, fix ou me thy wondring Sight, 
Beware, and view me well, and judge aright. 
Conyreve, Judgment of Paris. 
Unless a book interests us, we cannot fix our attention 
to it. J. F. Clarke, Self-Culture, p. 321. 
3. To hold firmly; restrain from wandering or 
wavering; arrest: as, to fix one with the eyes; 
to fix the attention of an audience ; to fix in- 
constant affections. 
Images are said by the Roman church to fix the cogita- 
tions, and raise the devotions of them that pray before 
them. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 205. 
If I can fix myself, with the strength of faith, upon that 
which God hath done for man, I cannot doubt of his mercy 
in any distress. Donne, Sermons, ii. 
She had by this time formed a little audience to herself, 
and fixed the attention of all about her. 
Addison, Fashions from France. 
You are to understand, that now is the time to fix or 
alienate your husband's heart for ever. 
Steele, Taller, No. 85. 
4. To establish ; give permanence or a perma- 
nent character to ; make permanent ; confirm. 
Life to the king, and safety fix his throne '. 
Ford, Perkin Warbeck, v. 2. 
A greater Empress ne'er was known, 
She fix'd the World in Peace. 
Prior, The Viceroy, st. 43. 
The last two hundred years of constitutional progress in 
England have been spent, not in changing the legal pow- 
ers of the three great elements of the state, but in filing, by 
the silent understandings of an unwritten constitution, 
the way in which those powers are to be exercised. 
E. A. Freeman, Amer. Lects., p. 3C9. 
5. To establish in position or in a situation; 
settle or place stably ; plant firmly : as, to fix 
a lance in rest; the fixed stars (see fixed, 2). 
Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. 
Luke xvi. 26. 
Fix thy foot [for combat]. Shak., Cor., i. 8. 
You cannot shake him ; 
And the more weight you put on his foundation, 
Now as he stands, you fix him still the stronger. 
Fletcher, Pilgrim, ii. 3. 
The apostles did, presently after the ascension, fix an 
apostle or a bishop in the chair of Jerusalem. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 166. 
6. To make stable in consistence or condition ; 
reduce from fluidity or volatility to a more per- 
manent state; make less volatile or fugitive: 
as, cold fixes water in the form of ice ; to fix 
colors by a mordant. A gas is fixed by combining 
it with a solid, and a volatile oil with alcohol. A photo- 
graphic negative or positive is fixed, or made pernuuMBt. 
by the removal of superfluous salts, especially those of 
silver, which would otherwise gradually blacken and de- 
stroy the image. This is usually done by means of hypo- 
sulphite of soda. 
The portion of the plant to be hardened should be put 
into absolute alcohol, in which the cell wall very soon be- 
comes rigid, and the protoplasm with slight contraction 
is fixed. Behrme, Micros, in Botany (trans.), p. 178. 
